TRANSCRIPT

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Hello everybody and welcome back to the Alopecia Angel Podcast. I'm your host, Johanna Dahlman. It's so great to be with you today. Today especially, we will be talking about public health and how this looked like in the past, where are we now in 2025, how things have changed and what you can do about it. The thing is, a lot of times we don't look at the past and we just focus on the present or focus on what's going on right here, right now. We can learn so much about the past, and so I hope to share a little bit of knowledge and education so that you can understand how things have declined and how this is such a call to action for us to take back our health, to take control of our health.

For those of you who are new to me, new to Alopecia Angel, I highly recommend that you start with podcast episode one so you can learn about me. My journey with alopecia areata how I almost went bald, lost over 50% of my hair, lost eyelashes, eyebrows had an extra inch of forehead and now it's been more than 8 years since. It's so magnificent to have healed. It's so magnificent to share and to help heal other people in over 67 countries.

Today in my mid 40s, I'm growing an inch of hair a month and I can track this with my highlights, but the beauty of this is I'm not the only in uniform. There's so many other out, so many other people out there doing the same thing by following their personalized plan and program inside the Hair N' Heal. If you wanna learn more about Hair N' Heal, go to alopeciaangel.com we actually have a new website and guess what? It's going to be translated in multiple languages. As I mentioned, I've been doing this for over 7 years and been helping thousands of people in over 67 countries. There's a lot of times where, you know, we're using different methods to communicate, different methods to understand each other. And so I want you to understand and have the information for you and your family, for your loved ones, for your children, in your native tongue.

And so, for those of you in Serbia, for those of you in Oman, for those of you in UAE, for those of you in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, you name it, all over the world, you can have this in your now native language. And so up at the top you will see an opportunity to translate the whole website in your native language and you'll be able to see that. And I'm really excited. I love helping people all over the world because my situation was such a struggle. I was dealing with alopecia while living in Europe and European doctors. The universal healthcare system did not work for me, and I can guarantee you it doesn't work for the majority of people in those countries as well.

What does work is having options, is having access. And this is what I do with Alopecia Angel. I give people access to testing, functional medicine grade testing. I give people access to knowledge. I empower them to heal. And even though we're miles and countries away from each other, because after Europe, I moved to Japan and I moved back to the US. Anyone can heal, anyone can do this worldwide. And that's the beauty of it. This shouldn't be a situation where only certain people in the US are doing this. This is open, and it's a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to heal or heal a loved one because you can do it for them as well.

So let's look into public health and what this looked like. And when I say public health, I really mean the history of health. Long ago, we had many other diseases that were very prevalent, and today we have a new challenge of diseases. But let's go ahead and look at the historical patterns of what this really entails. So historical disease patterns have shifted from infectious illnesses to chronic diseases. Conditions like heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disorders have become increasingly prevalent in modern times. Despite longer lifespans from medical advances, the quality of life has declined. And it's declined significantly. As modern medicine focuses on managing symptoms rather than addressing the root cause of chronic disease.

This is where, again, Alopecia Angel, we are always looking at the root cause, and we uncover these with your personal assessment, with your personal, program and tailored program for you. Past generations maintain physical resilience through daily manual labor and movement, whereas modern sedentary lifestyle have contributed to earlier onset of mobility issues and frailty. Traditional diets consisted of different foods, seasonal local sources without artificial additives or preservatives, and foods now are ridden with so many more issues and situations that are not contributing to a healthy nation or to a healthy world. Reclaiming health requires rejecting modern habits that prioritize convenience at the cost of your health, and returning to fundamental principles.

This is where we learn to relearn on how to heal hair loss, on how to really optimize body from the inside out. Health today looks very different than what it did a few generations ago. If you compare modern health trends with historical records, you'll find that many chronic illnesses that define modern life were uncommon in the past. People have not lived as long on average, but those who survived infectious diseases tended to stay away and stay strong and independent into old age. Their bodies didn't break down the way many do now. So the question is why? This is the big question. Why is it that people born in 1910, 1920, 1940, 1940, 1950 are so much stronger and more resilient than the people who are actually born today?

Today we're living in a situation where in the US apparently the current generation that's born will not outlive their parents due to chronic diseases, due to diabetes, due to so many of these chronic issues that's happening and that really is stemming all over the world. In a recent podcast, I had also mentioned that my husband got back from a trip to the Netherlands where we used to live for 5 to 6 years, and over 5 people that we know have in just a little bit of time. I'm not talking a 10 year span, I'm talking just like 3 years, 4 years, have developed all of 'them. Some sort of cancer, some sort of autoimmune disease, some sort of situation. So for many of you listening to this podcast, you may think: Oh, this only pertains to the us. It doesn't, it pertains worldwide.

There's, food issues and government issues, political issues, economical issues in the US, all these issues. Are, prevalent in other countries too, all around the world. No country is perfect and so that's what I'm trying to get at. No country is perfect. No country has the a 100% right way of doing things, and this is where things fall through the cracks because we are all susceptible to chronic disease. We are all susceptible to these issues, we all know and have loved ones who have or have gone through, cancers, sometimes even two. I have friends here locally who are like 35 years old, 10 years younger than me, who've already had two types of cancer already in their lifetime. To me, that's just so crazy to even hear and fathom and think about because that's just a big mon monstrosity of a situation to have to overcome.

One time cancer, okay, let's just call it a fluke, let's just call it, a situation. But 2 times? 3 times? That's just crazy to me. It's also because of how we're living, what we're doing, what we're not doing, and how this is affecting not just us, but future generations. I can't stress enough, like what the mom does is so important for future generations. What the mom does, how they eat, how they live, etcetera is so crucial for that new baby and for their babies and for that generation. So it's not just a here and a now, but it's also how it affects you long term.

A couple weeks ago they were commemorating the Vietnam War and during this time, this war wasn't just 50 years, it was actually a span of 150 years through different nations. It started with the British and the French, and it just kept going. And then Americans got involved and so on and so forth. And so, depending on which history book you're reading and you're listening to, this may look a little different, but the core premise here that I'm trying to, tell you is that they used a lot of different weapons.

They used Agent Orange and they used a lot of different toxins that if you go to Vietnam, if you go to Ho Chi Minh, if you go to Saigon, to these cities like I've been to, and you go to the War Museum there where kind of it was the center of everything, you'll see and understand that these chemicals that they used not only killed and hurt and damaged people, setting their their skin on fire and creating horrible situations for them and for this population of people and Americans too, right? Because they were the ones using it. But then also, people in Vietnam as well. And what happened? It wasn't just them, but it's 5 generations later and they're still seeing the side effects to these chemicals. 5 generations later imagine that.

And so the thing is, it's like sometimes, depending on the situation, there's not enough detoxing that you can do. It's a situation that we should just try to avoid altogether. I never thought that war wasn't the answer. I wasn't alive during this time, but at the same time, I do believe of peaceful, more pragmatic options to discussion, conversation. At any case, understand that sometimes things linger with us and it's not your fault, and it's not your parents' fault and it's not your grandparents' fault, and it's something that's you know from before. But we can change the trajectory of all this. We can change and we can help it.

And so this is what I'm trying to get at, is that situations happen that can affect multiple generations, but there are ways to help it, support your body currently, even with whatever happened in the past, even with whatever genetic situation you have, you can always change and help it. You can always change and help it. And this is actually an argument that I come into a lot with women who have female pattern baldness. It's, they are so adamant: Oh no, it's DHT. Oh no, it's this. Oh no, it's that. Oh no, it's genetics, there's nothing I can do. And I'm here to tell you that beyond genetics, you can do so much. If you listen to the first 10 of my podcast episodes, you'll hear about my episode on genetics on epigenetics, and how truly we have more control than you think.

This is why we're seeing success with female pattern baldness, with autoimmune diseases, with scarring alopecia, and with traction alopecia, with so many other different types of hair loss where their doctors have told them there's nothing you can do. There's no help. Sorry, go home. When there is more you can do, there is more. It's just not gonna be the conventional way. It's not gonna be this way. It'll be a different way, and we're gonna come in on the side and take care of it from a different angle. And so that's the beauty of taking control and understanding that there's more you can do. So don't feel disempowered, just the opposite. Understand that there's more to do, and it's also about getting the right help from the right person.

So disease patterns of the past. At the turn of the 20th century, the biggest threats to public health weren't chronic diseases, but acute infections. According to mortality data from the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 350,000 give or take, people died from all causes in 1900, and the leading killers were pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases like cholera, which claim tens of thousands of lives each year. Now, heart disease and cancer are leading rates. Heart disease, which is now the leading cause of death in the US and globally, was responsible for only 27,000 deaths in the 1900 with a mortality rate of 138 for 100,000 people. Cancer was even lower back in 1900, causing just 12,000 deaths. Diabetes, which now affects millions wasn't even listed among the leading cause of death during that time.

Medical advances reduced infectious diseases and deaths primarily by learning to wash your hands and wear gloves. But chronic illnesses rose by the mid 20th century. Infectious diseases, deaths had declined sharply due to advances in sanitation and medical care. What'd I say? Wash hands. However, while medical advances have helped people survive infections, they haven't prevented the steady decline in metabolic and physical health, and this is a key juncture. As deaths from infection struck, chronic conditions, took their place. Heart disease and cancer became leading causes of death by the late 20th century. Autoimmune diseases rates have risen significantly in recent decades.

I gotta tell you, 30 years ago, this was not a thing. Autoimmune diseases were not a thing, and now they're everywhere. I see clients with 2 and 3 autoimmune diseases. Even if their hair loss is not autoimmune in nature, they still come to me, we still tackle those and we also tackle the hair loss and everything gets better. These diseases, which were almost non-existent in early mortality records, have also surged with cases increasing 3% to 12% annually. I gotta probably say that 12% annually, it's probably even higher than that because it's just so astounding. Once you have one autoimmune disease, the likelihood of obtaining and acquiring a second or a third increases by more than 25%.

The thing is that you can have many autoimmune diseases that buddy up. They like to buddy up. And so for example, you have Hashimoto's-alopecia, they like to buddy up. You have psoriasis-alopecia, like to buddy up. Eczema and alopecia like to buddy up. Graves disease and alopecia like to buddy up. And so many of these are actually prone, they're like in a family of their own and they like to buddy up together just naturally.

Research from 2011 to 2022 found over that 15 million Americans, or roughly 4.6% of the population had been diagnosed with at least one autoimmune disease. I actually think that's really low of what this is saying. I actually think it's much higher than that, because with alopecia in general in the US today, there's over 8 million. And we already know there's already a hundred different types of, autoimmune diseases. So 15 million Americans, that doesn't make sense. It's probably a lot higher because we have already seven to eight that are alopecia. Then you have a big portion that are MS, right? Multiple sclerosis. You have lupus, you have eczema, you have psoriasis, you have Hashimoto's, which is the number #1 autoimmune disease in women. And then it just goes on from there.

And so the thing is, it's like that number is actually really low. 15 million Americans. No it's a lot higher. Had been diagnosed with at least one autoimmune disease. Even more concerning, 34% of those diagnosed had 2 or more of these conditions. So I would also come to say that's probably higher as well. The significant shift in disease trends reflects the way living has transformed over time. While modern medicine has extended lifespans. It hasn't necessarily improved quality of life, and that's what I'm getting at. Quality of life. You can have your hair, you can have your health, you can be vibrant, and you can choose to live how you want to live. And if you want health and hair and growing an inch of hair a month, come join the Hair N' Heal because you can do this.

Unlike many people today, our ancestors didn't need to rely on dozens of prescriptions just to function. This is a huge misnomer. Pharmaceuticals are not going to heal you in any capacity. They're just going to either reduce the symptoms or, make your standard or quality of life just ever so slightly where you can bear it or maybe even diminish it significantly, because that's what tends to happen with those ramifications and side effects. Their bodies worked away, they were supposed to because their lifestyles naturally supported their metabolic health. That's the real difference between then and now.

So modern life we know is not necessarily the healthiest, and this is a problem because then we're passing this on to our children. Children in past generations also developed physical resilience early in life. Today's children are more sedentary, which harms their long-term health. Older adults in the past remain physically independent longer, which you know that also is. A hurdle for a lot of families who have to care for an elderly loved one. Modern physical decline often begins early due to inactivity. Basic functional movements are now difficult for many people, and that's disheartening. It's concerning and worrisome.

Food used to be simple and real, and that's what why it worked. But now, the food system is just plagued with misinformation, it's plagued with different things and it's not the same quality that we would think. And even me having lived in Europe, me having lived in Japan, me having lived in Latin America, the food is different. Some of the quality can be a little higher, can be a little lower depending where you go, and depending on which food item that you choose. But I will say it's any country I go to, whether it's for travel, for pleasure or for living, I'm navigating it like a maze, like a puzzle because that's what it is. And the thing is, it's like you need to be necessarily like on guard, and so at the same time, you can live, you can travel freely, you can do these things, but it's also the knowledge up here that allows you to make those better decisions.

Traditional food cultures also understood that real food was more than just sustenance food was spiritually and physically nourishing, not just a product. Simple whole foods remained the best path to nourishment. Reclaiming the quality of health was once Normal. Health depends on multiple factors and this is why inside the Hair N' Heal program we are looking and assessing you on every which way. It's not just one way and it's not just, one factor or two factors. It's all the factors. Healing, alopecia, getting that health that you crave, desire and want really takes a full assessment of you, of what's going on so that we can move the needle and make huge progress in less time.

Restoring health requires an understanding of root causes. And this is where the doctors and the people who I saw during my time and potentially maybe the people that you have been seeing are not making the mark, are not moving the needle. And this is problematic because guess what? This creates, vicious cycles. This creates a feeling of stuckness and this creates stagnation in your progress towards hair growth. And I gotta tell you, with the testing that we provide with our team that we have, with the expertise, with me having gone through this and also helping thousands in over 67 countries, this is a proven framework because it's tailored to you. It's not a one size fits all.

If you wanna learn more, please visit us at alopeciaangel.com where you can learn more about the Hair N' Heal program. We'll be offering a free training here shortly, and you'll be able to ask, questions, have a live Q&A. I will be giving this training free and live, and so please register. You can be on our subscribed email list. If you go to alopeciaangel.com, you go to here and he at the top. And then you'll see on the bottom there's a form. Once you register there, then you will be notified for the next training.

So I look forward to helping you and getting your hair back in less time. Thanks so much. Take care.